Device for controlling horses.



No.746,080. I PATENTED-DEG. '8 ,'1903;

' N J. V. HIGGINS. V

DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING HORSES. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 25, 1903.

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No. 746,080. A

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"'NiTED STATES Patented December 8, '1903. V

PAT T CFFICE.

"o'svlcs FOR CONTROLLING HORSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters'Patent No. 746,080, dated December8, 1903.

' Application filed July 25, 1903. SerialNo.16'7,024. (Nomads To allwhom it mrty conoern: 7

Be it known that I, JOSEPH VICTOR HIG- GINS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Bayou Ohene, in the parish of St. Martin and Stateof Lonisiana',-have invented a new and useful Device for ControllingFractious Horses, of which the'followi'ng is a specifica capable ofadjustment, whereby the horses may be normally held in to any desiredextent, so thatthere shall be no danger of their getting the advantageof the driver,and which shall, furthermore, be so constructed that inthe event of impending danger or arunaway the horses may be instantlyand powerfully checked and controlled, or even thrown, if it shall befound necessary to do so. 7

' A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this classwith means whereby the powerful restraint which it may occasionally befound necessary" to bring to bear upon the animals maybe instantaneouslyreleased at any moment, so as to avoid dan-' ger of injury to theanimals.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature ofthe invention is better understood, the invention consists in v of myimproved deviceis composed of side pieces 1 1, which are in the form ofbrackets having foot pieces or lugs 2, provided with perforations 3 forthe passage of screws or bolts, whereby the device may be secured inposition for operation. Each of "went from rotating thereon.

particularly pointed said side pieces is also provided with alaterally-extending flange-piece 4, cast or formed integrally therewith.for the purpose of sustaining the frame rigidly in position foroperation. The two side pieces of the frame are connected mainly bymeans of a transverse brace 5, provided near its ends with shoulders 6,abutting upon the inner sides of the side frame-pieces 1, and havingscrew-thread ed ends upon which washers 7 and nuts 8 are mounted, thussecuring the side pieces to-' gether. Said side pieces'are alsoconnected and spaced by means of an apron 9, suitably .securedtoth eirupper or front sides.

The upper front ends of the brackets 1 l are provided with bearings forthe ends of a roller or winch 10, having a transverse opening 11, andprovided with set-screws 12, the inner ends of which extend into thesaid transverse opening or slot. The shaft or axis of said rollerprojects at one end of the frame and carries a clutch element 13, whichmay be secured in' position thereonin any suitable manner-such as, forinstance, by means of set-screws 14. The shaftat this pointis alsopreferably squared to prevent the clutchele- A coacting clutch element15- is. mounted looselyupon the shaftand is provided with an annular=recess orgroove 16, engaged by the bifurcated end of a flat spring '17,which is securely mounted upon one ofthe projecting ends of thecross-brace 5. This spring, which is of considerable strength, serves tohold the clutch elements 13 and 15. normally in engagement with eachother.

The clutch member 1-5 is provided with a crank or handle 16, which ispreferably formed integrally therewith and which partakes of themovement-0f said clutch member on the shaft, which latter when theclutchmembers 15 and 13. arein engagement may The clutch member 13 is providedat its periphery with teeth or ratchet-s 22, normally engaged by a pawl23, which is fulcruined upon the side of the frame and which is normallyheld in engagement with said ratchets by means of a suitably-disposedflat spring 24-, which maybe pivotally connected with the side of theframe by means of a pin or boltv 25 and which is extended under andpermanently disposed upon the lug 26 in such a manner as to beardownward upon the engaging end of the pawl 23, which is thereby normallyheld in engagementwith the ratchet portion of the clutch member 13. Theopposite end of the pawl 23 is connected by means of a link 27 with anoperating-lever 28, one end of which is provided with a handle 29. Theinner or active end of said lever is adapted to engage between the sideof the frame and a camshaped lug 30, formed upon the inner side of theflat spring 17.

It will be understood from the foregoing description that the clutchmembers 13 and 15 are normally in engagement with each other, being thusheld by means of the flat spring 17, assisted by the coiled spring 20.The crank 16 is likewise held in operative position, being an integralpart of the clutch member 15.

In operation the deviceis mounted upon the dashboard or in any othersuitable position of the vehicle to which it is to be attached. Anauxiliary line is led from the bit of the horse or from the bit of eachhorse, as the case may be, to the winch or roller 10, in the slot ofwhich said line or lines are firmly secured by means of the set-screws12. By rotating the winch by means of the crank these lines may betightened to any extent that may be deemed necessary or desirable inorder to make it impossible for the horse or horses to seize the bits bythe teeth, and thereby get beyond the control of the driver. Of courseif only one horse of the team is fractious one of the lead-lines may beconnected with the roller so loosely that it will not be tightened up toany desirable extent by the rotation of the winch. The latter will beheld in the position to which it is adjusted by means of the pawl 23,engaging the ratchets upon the periphery of the clutch member 13. If thehorses while driving should show a disposition to run away or to getbeyond control, the winch maybe operated by means of the crank to stillfurther tighten the lead-lines, which may be quickly accomplished tosuch an extent that. the heads of the horses will be forced in arearward direction until they look back at the carriage. Thisoperationmay even be continued until the horses are thrown, the animals beingchoked by thus straining their heads backward. At the same time thestrain may be instantaneously released by manipulating the lever 28, theend of which will engage between the side of the frame and thecam-shaped projection upon the flat spring 17, thus forcing the free endof the latter in an outward direction and causing the clutch members tobe temporarily disengaged from each other. At the same time the link 27,which connects the lever 28 with the pawl 23, will disengage the latterfrom the toothed circumference of the clutch member 13, therebypermitting the winch to revolve freely in a reverse direction while thelead-lines are being unwound therefrom, this being obviouslyaccomplished without the crank rotating with the shaft, which might bemore or less dangerous to the occupants of the vehicle. By simplydisengaging the lever 28 from engagement with the cam upon the spring 17the device will be restored to operative position.

This device is to be constructed throughout of such material as, withoutbeing excessively heavy, will be fully able to resist any strain towhich it may be subjected. It may also be made of various sizes, and Idesire it to be understood that while the device has been hereindescribed as being for the purpose of controlling fractious horses itmay within the scope of the invention be utilized as a hoisting-machineorfor other purposes for which it may deemed available.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- I 1. In a device of theclass described, a frame, a winch journaled in said frame and having alongitudinal slot and setscrews engaging the body of the winch andextending into the slot thereof.

2. In a device of the class described, a frame, a winch journaled insaid frame, a clutch member secured upon the shaft of said winch, acooperating clutch member-mounted movably upon said shaft and having anop crating-crank and an annular groove, and a flat spring secured to theside of the frame and having a bifurcated end engaging the annulargroove of the movable clutch member.

3. In a device of the class described, a frame comprising sidesconnected by a crossbrace having projecting ends and nuts upon saidends, a winch journaled in said frame, a stationary clutch member uponthe shaft of said winch, a clutch member mounted movably upon said shaftand having an operating-crank and an annular groove, and a flat springupon one of the projecting ends of the connecting-brace and having abifurcated end engaging the annular groove of the movable clutch member.

4:. In a device of the class described, a frame, a winch jourualed insaid frame, a clutch member fixedly connected with said winch, a movableclutch member having an annular groove, a flat spring connected with theframe and having a bifurcated endengaging the annular groove of themovable clutch member and provided on its inner side with a cam-shapedprojection, and a lever pivot- ICS ally connected with the frame andengaging member connected fixedly with the winch and having aratchet-toothed edge, a movable clutch member, means for holding thelatter normally in contact with the fixed clutch member, aspring-actuated pawl normally engaging the ratchet-tooth edge of thestationary clutch member, and means for simultaneously throwing saidpawl and the movable clutch member out of engagement with the stationaryclutch member.

6. In a device of the class described, a frame, a winch journaledtherein, a stationary clutch member fixedly connected with said winchand having peripheral teeth or ratchets, a movable clutch member havingan annular groove, a flat spring engaging said annular groove andholding the movable clutch member normally in engagement with the fixedclutch member, a spring-actuated pawl normally engaging theratchet-teeth of engaging the rotating means and the restraining means,thereby permitting the winch to rotate reversely.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

-JOSEPH VICTOR HIGGINS.

Witnesses:

HY. 'BERAND, EMILE PETIT.

